Adolescence is a very important transition stage between childhood and adulthood. In this stage, due to rapid change physically and mentally, adolescents are more likely to occur physical, psychological, and social problems. Therefore, providing adolescents fine health service is critical. To do so, having a better understanding of the factors associated with health service utilization can help a lot.
The main purpose of this study is to understand adolescents¡¦ behavior of health service utilization. Based on Andersen¡¦s behavior model of health service utilization, this study investigated the associations of predisposing characteristics, enabling resource characteristics, and needing characteristics with health service utilization of adolescents. The data used in these analyses were drawn from students in junior high schools of Tainan Providence, of which seven schools were randomly selected and then anonymous questionnaires were distributed to all students. 2,242 of 3,591 students were collected, for a response rate of 55.39%, and the final sample was 1,989.
ANOVA and t test were employed to examine health service utilization of adolescents, and multiple regression was used to investigate the factors associated with health service utilization. Several results were found in this study as follows:
First, significant differences did exist among junior high students, which indicated that second graders and third graders went to see doctors more times than first graders did.
Second, there were 21% and 12% of respondents with experience of hospitalization and operation respectively. Students with hospitalization and operation experience utilized more health services.
Third, students with national health insurance were more likely to utilize health services than those without national health insurance.
Last, with regard to the relationship between self-perception of health status and health service utilization, the more respondents perceived themselves with problem of physical health or adolescent development, the more health services they utilized. In addition, the perception of emotional problem was negatively related to the utilization of health services.
Several suggestions are proposed. First, establish adolescent clinics in all hospitals that are in the level of district hospitals and above to improve medical accessibility. Second, advocate the system of family physician to emphasize continuity and integrity of health care. Moreover, design appropriate clinical education for adolescents to educate them with adequate concept of health care and health utilization, making them understand the idea of health gradient to receive the right treatment in the right place. Last but not least, the health and education administration should reinforce adolescents¡¦ ability of emotional management, provide assistance for them to find out their emotional problems, and help them to receive appropriate health treatment through psychological consultation of adolescent clinics as soon as possible.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NSYSU/oai:NSYSU:etd-0814103-090944 |
| Date | 14 August 2003 |
| Creators | Wu, Tzu-Hsien |
| Contributors | Ing-Chung Huang, Shyh-Jer Chen, Liang-Chih Huang |
| Publisher | NSYSU |
| Source Sets | NSYSU Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive |
| Language | Cholon |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lib.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-0814103-090944 |
| Rights | off_campus_withheld, Copyright information available at source archive |
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